Hi-Lites+ is 1st overall in Student Journalism Competition

September 28, 2017

By:

Ryan Oquiza (11-Mayer)

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Last September 4-7, 2017, selected members of Hi-Lites+, along with other Ateneo de Manila Senior High School (ASHS) students, competed in the 2017 Quezon City Division Secondary Schools Press Conference. The conference’s theme was “Campus Journalists: Agents of Positive Change” and it was held at San Francisco High School, Quezon City. It is the largest journalism contest in the city as it is a culmination of all the schools that competed in their respective district competitions. The event featured the high school campus journalists competing in the same categories as the district competition, but with added difficulty as they were pitted against other campus journalists in the city. The stakes were higher for them, as an opportunity to represent the city in the Regional Press Conference was being contested.

The press conference included keynote speeches from Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, Mayor Herbert Bautista (through a proxy), and a special video message from Vice President Leni Robredo. They all talked about being agents of positive change as journalists in the ever-changing context of the Philippines.

This marked the school’s first time to compete in both the District and Division Press Conference. At the conclusion of the competition, the ASHS was named the 1st Best Overall School, accumulating the most number of points from placing in the different categories. This also marked its very first city-wide achievement for the school paper. After its successful stint in the District Press Conference, Hi-Lites+ prevailed once more, bagging a total of six medals and a trophy for being the best-performing school paper in the city.

For individual awards, Angelo Naorbe (11-Hurtado, HumSS) won 3rd place in “Pagsusulat ng Balita,” Keziah Pasion (12-Carvalho, GA) won 2nd place in “Feature Writing English,” Jeanill Migraso (12-Sullivan, STEM) won 3rd place in “Pagwawasto at Pag-uulo ng Balita,” Jean Romano (12-Sullivan, STEM) won 6th place in “Science Writing English,” Florydayne Capio (12-Sullivan, STEM) won 2nd place in “Science Writing English,” and Franchesca Regala (12-Kibe, HumSS) won 2nd place in “Pagsusulat ng Balitang Agham”. These students, along with Gamby Bautista (12-Sullivan), who also qualified in the Editorial category, are off to the Regional Press Conference this September 25, 2017, where they will represent the city in hopes of qualifying for the National Press Conference next year.